Shortstop Jordan Donahue drove in three runs and made a bold dash home for another in leading the Hawaii baseball team to Tuesday’s 9-3 road victory over Santa Clara on the SCU campus.
A crowd of 335 at Schott Stadium also saw Jake Tsukada and Kyson Donahue contribute three hits apiece. Six UH pitchers combined to allow seven hits as the Rainbow Warriors won their third in a row to improve 19-11. In suffering their fifth consecutive defeat, the Broncos dropped to 15-15.
Three days after delivering the decisive hit against UC Davis, Hawaii outfielder Sean Rimmer drew a bases-loaded walk for a 1-0l lead in the first inning.
Jordan Donahue’s sacrifice fly made it 2-0 in the fourth.
After the Broncos closed to 2-1, the ’Bows answered with a three-run sixth, with Donahue driving in two with a double.
Later in the inning, with Donahue on third, Matthew Miura hit a popup to shallow center. Shortstop Malcolm Williams ran back to make the over-the-shoulder catch as Donahue sprinted home to extend the ’Bows’ lead to 5-1.
“That was a great play by Jordan, similar to what Dallas (Duarte) did earlier in the year,” UH coach Rich Hill said. “He saw their outfielder (Coleman Brigman in center) didn’t call off the infielder. We don’t say call off the infielder, we say, ‘scare him off.’ Same thing with the first baseman or third baseman scaring off a pitcher on a bunt. I think when Jordan saw that infielder kind of reach back, he just bolted, man. It wasn’t even close. It was awesome. It was a head’s up play.”
Hill, who was coaching from the third-base box, said he did not have to signal. “He gave himself the call,” Hill said.
The Broncos cut it to 5-2 on Ben Steck’s solo homer in the sixth, and then 6-3 on Ben Cleary’s RBI double in the seventh. But UH ended the suspense with a three-run ninth, punctuated by catcher Austin Machado’s two-run double.
After retiring seven in row — four on strikeouts — UH freshman left-hander Sebastian Gonzalez allowed back-to-back, two-out singles in the SCU ninth. But Gonzalez then induced Michael O’Hara to hit into a game-ending groundout for his first save.
“That’s a three-inning save,” Hill said. “That’s two good outings in a row for that guy. … Guys, especially freshmen, you can see the growth and maturity right before your eyes. It’s mid-April. That’s when it’s supposed to be happening.”
UH starting pitcher Cory Ronan, a third-year sophomore, allowed two hits and no runs 1 2/3 innings to earn his first career victory. Because this was deemed a “staff”game in which multiple pitchers would be used, Ronan did not have to pitch five innings to be credited with the decision.
Ronan gave up consecutive singles to open the SCU first. Hill then went to the mound, and offered this advice: “Focus on your breath. Let’s take some expansive breaths, and push the reset button, and start this inning over.”
Ronan induced Efrain Manzo to line out, and then struck out Steck and Dylan Joyce to douse the first-inning threat.
“It’s a different deal when guys start a game,” Hill said. “They’re warming up in the pen, they go to the dugout, they go out. In Cory’s case, he’s trying to prove himself, like all or guys. He’s trying to compete for innings. I settled him down a little bit.”
On Friday, the ’Bows open a three-game series against UC Santa Barbara on the central California coast.
HAWAII 9, SANTA CLARA 3
RAINBOW WARRIORS AB R H BI BB SO
Donahue ss 3 2 1 3 1 1
Tsukada 2b/lf 5 0 3 0 0 1
Quandt pr/lf 1 1 0 0 0 1
Miura cf 5 1 2 2 0 1
Machado c 4 0 1 2 0 1
K. Donahue 1b 5 2 3 0 0 0
Zeigler-Namoa lf/rf 4 0 2 1 1 0
Calderon rf 0 0 0 0 0 0
Duarte dh 4 2 1 0 1 0
Ickes 3b 4 1 2 0 1 0
Rimmer rf 0 0 0 1 1 0
Miyao ph/2b 2 0 1 0 1 1
TOTALS 37 9 16 9 6 6
BRONCOS AB R H BI BB SO
O’Hara rf 5 0 1 0 0 1
Lewis lf 4 0 1 0 0 0
Manzo 3b 4 1 1 0 0 0
Steck c 3 1 1 1 0 2
Carston c 0 0 0 0 0 0
Joyce 1b 3 0 0 0 0 2
Brigman cf 4 0 0 1 0 2
Williams ss 3 1 0 0 1 1
Luetzow dh 4 0 1 0 0 1
Cleary 2b 3 0 2 1 0 1
TOTALS 33 3 7 3 1 10
Hawaii (19-11) 010 103130 — 9 16 1
Santa Clara (15-15)000101100— 3 7 1
E—Ronan; Brigman. DP—Santa Clara 2.
LOB–Hawaii 12; Santa Clara 7. 2B–J. Donahue, K. Donahue; Manzo; Cleary. HR—
Steck. SH–Machado, Miyao; Joyce. SF–J.
Donahue, Miura. HBP—J. Donahue; Steck,
Cleary. SB–K. Donahue.
HAWAII IP H R ER BB SO
Ronan (W, 1-0) 12
3 2 0 0 0 2
Magdaleno 12
3 1 1 1 0 1
Dyball 1 0 0 0 0 1
Harrison 12
3 1 1 1 0 1
Cardinez 1
3 1 1 1 1 1
Gonzalez (S, 1) 22
3 2 0 0 0 4
SANTA CLARA IP H R ER BB SO
Gillmore (L, 2-2) 21
3 3 1 1 3 2
Martinez 3 4 3 3 1 1
Schreiber 2
3 4 2 2 0 0
Stanley 2 5 3 3 0 1
Wooster 1 0 0 0 2 2
Schreiber pitched to 2 batters in the 7th
WP–Schreiber. HBP—Steck (by Magdaleno); Cleary (by Dyball); J. Donahue (by
Stanley). Umpires—(Plate): Kenneth Durham.
(First): Greg Charles. (Third): Ron Adams.
T—2:59. A–335.
